Name: Jackeline Hernández

Investigating the pH Scale

Guiding Question:
How does the pH scale qualitatively relate to acids, bases, hydronium ion and hydroxide ion concentrations?
When the solution becomes more acidic the concentration of H3 O+ ions increases and the concentration of OH- ions decreases. When the solution becomes more basic (alka alkaline), the concentration of OH- ions increases and the
concentration of H3 O+ ions decreases. When the pH is below 7 are acids and those above 7 are bases.

1. Navigate to the PhET “pH scale” Simulation.

• You can google “PhET pH scale”, go to the first link, then click on the play button in the center of the
picture
• OR you can follow this link: https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/ph-scale/latest/ph-scale_en.html

Macro Investigation
2. Click on the “Macro” box.

3. There is a pH scale on the left hand side of the screen. Label the pH scale below as acidic and basic.
http://www.aquahealthproducts.com/sites/default/files/pH%20scale%20-%20EN.jpg

______________ ______________
_ _
4. Investigate the pH of each of the following substances.
a) Drag the pH sensor into the solution to see the pH Lyric Portwood, South Paulding HS 2015

Substance pH acid/base
reading. Drain cleaner base
13.00
b) Record the pH of the substance and whether the base
Hand soap 10.00
substance falls into the acid or base end of the pH scale.
Blood 7.40 base
c) To change the substance simply select from the drop
Spit 7.40 base

down menu. Milk 6.50 acid

Chicken Soup 5.80 acid

Coffee 5.00 acid

Orange Juice 3.50 acid

Soda Pop 2.50 acid

Vomit 2.00 acid

Battery Acid 1.00 acid

5. Now add these substances below the pH scale on the previous

page at the appropriate location based on their pH values.

6. Using the information from the chart and simulation answer the following questions.
a) What pH values correspond to acids?
Milk, chicken soup, co ee, orange juice, soda pop, vomit and battery acid.

b) What pH values correspond to bases?

Drain cleaner, hand soap, blood and spit.

Micro Investigation
7. Navigate to the “Micro” box.

8. The same substances that were on the previous tab (Macro) are in this tab. However this tab gives you
additional information. Click on the H3O+/OH- ratio box located below the beaker with the substance.

9. Fill in the chart below for each substance in the chart. (Note the first three columns of the chart you
completed above)
Substance pH Acid or Concentration (mol/L) Particulate Level View
Base? H 2O H 3O+
OH -
(color coded)
More blue, less red
13.00 base
Drain cleaner 55 1.0x10-13 1.0x10-1

55 1.0x10-10 1.0x10-4 More blue, less red

Hand soap 10.00 base

Blood 55 4.0x10-8 2.5x10-7

7.40 base More blue, less red

base More blue, less red

7.40
Spit 55 4.0x10-8 2.5x10-7
 Substance pH Acid or Concentration (mol/L) Particulate Level View
Base? H 2O H3O+ OH- (color coded)
Milk

More red, less blue

6.50 acid 55 3.2x10-7 3.2x10-8

Chicken soup
More red, less blue
Drain cleaner 5.80 acid
55 1.6x10-6 6.3x10-9

Coffee acid 55 1.0x10-5 1.0x10-9 More red, less blue

5.00

Orange Juice 3.50 acid 55 3.2x10-4 3.2x10-11

More red, less blue

2.50 acid 3.2x10-3 3.2x10-12

Soda Pop 55 More red, less blue

2.00 acid
Vomit More red, less blue
55 1.0x10-2 1.0x10-12

55 1.0x10-1 1.0x10-13 More red, less blue

Battery Acid 1.00 acid

10. Using the information from the chart and simulation answer the following questions.
a) As the pH approaches 0, what happens to the concentration of H 3O+ ions?
The concentration of H 3O+ increase because the substances are acidic.
b) As the pH approaches 0, what happens to the concentration of OH - ions?
The concentration of OH - decrease because the substances are acidic..

c) As a solution becomes more acidic, the concentration of (H3O+/OH-) ions increases and the concentration of
(H3O+/OH-) ions decreases. + -
When the solution becomes more acidic the concentration of H 3O ions increases and the concentration of OH ions decreases.

d) As the pH approaches 14, what happens to the concentration of H 3O+ ions?

The concentration of H 3O+ decrease because the substances are bases.

e) As the pH approaches 14, what happens to the concentration of OH- ions?

The concentration of OH - increase because the substances are bases.

f) As a solution becomes more basic (aka alkaline), the concentration of (H3O+/OH-) ions increases and the
concentration of (H3O+/OH-) ions decreases.

When the solution becomes more basic (alka alkaline), the concentration of OH - ions increases and the concentration of H 3O+ ions decreases.
 11. Can you predict what a solution with a pH of 7 will look like 9 9
at the particulate level? Draw a particulate diagram of a
neutral solution in the box.
12. Would you classify this solution as an acid or base? Explain
your reasoning. When the solution has a pH of 7 the solution is neutral because H 3O+ and OH -

has the same amount of particles.

Lyric Portwood, South Paulding HS 2015

Further
Investigations into the pH scale
Water only a ects the pH of acid and base solutions because it further dilutes the
Guiding Questions:
• How does adding water affect the pH of acid and base solutions? solution as the ion concentration decreases.
• What are the outer limits of the pH scale? How low and high does it go and what does this mean?
The scale is from 1 to 13 pH which means that those below 7 are acids and those above 7 are bases.
My Solution Investigation
1. Navigate to the PhET “pH scale” Simulation.
• You can google “PhET pH scale”, go to the first link, then click on the play button in the center of the
picture
• OR you can follow this link: https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/ph-scale/latest/ph-scale_en.html

2. Click on the “My Solution” box.

3. Click on the H3O+/OH- ratio box located below the beaker with the substance.

4. Determine the lowest the pH scale can go by adjusting the pH value. What is the lowest pH value you could
achieve on the simulation?
The lowest pH value achieved on the simulation in my solution is -1.00 pH

very acid
5. Draw a particulate diagram of this solution. Is this solution very acidic or very basic?

6. Determine the highest the pH scale can go by adjusting the pH value. What is the highest pH value you could
achieve on the simulation?
The highest pH value achieved on the simulation in my solution is 15.00 pH.

7. Draw a particulate diagram of this solution. Is this solution very acidic or very basic? very basic

8. Adjust the pH scale so that you have a solution with a pH of 7.00. Draw a particulate level diagram of this
solution.

9. What are the concentrations of H3O+ and OH- ions?

Both H3 O+ and OH- have the same ion concentration for examen both has 15 particles in the solution.

10. Is this solution acidic or basic? Explain.

The solution is neutral becuse H3 O+ and OH- have the same ion concentration
Micro Investigation
11. Navigate to the “Micro” box.

12. Click on the H3O+/OH- ratio box located below the beaker with the substance.

13. Investigate how adding more of the substance Lyric Portwood, South Paulding HS 2015
with the red button on the dropper changes the pH
of the resulting solution.
When the same substance is added it does not change its pH, since it will remain somewhat stable, but there

are cases in which it will increase but not noticeably.

14. Fill in the data table with data from 5 different solutions (make sure atleast two are acid and atleast two are
base).
Substance Volume (Liters) pH
Initial Final Initial Final
Drain cleaner 0.50 L 0.60 13.00 13.00

Hand soap 0.50 L 0.60 10.00 10.00

Blood 0.50 L 0.65 7.40 7.40
0.50 L 2.00 2.00
Vomit 0.70
Battery Acid 0.50 L 0.79 1.00 1.00

15. What happens to the pH of the solution as you add more of the substance to it?
The pH of the solution does not change, since with each solution a di erent amount is added and neither changes its pH. This is because it remains the same solution without observing another substance.

16. Now you will investigate how adding water changes

the pH of the solution. Reset the simulation page with
the reset arrow. When solutions are acidic and water is added it will cause the pH to increase to approximately 7. This is because either a base or acidic solution will also be a ected in its ion concentration.

17. Make sure to reclick on the H3O+/OH- ratio box located below the beaker with the substance.

18. Investigate the effect of adding water to a

solution on the pH of that solution. Add enough
water to the solution to bring the total volume of the
beaker up to 1 L using the water knob.
When solutions are acidic and water is added it will cause the pH to increase to approximately 7. This is because either a base or acidic solution will also be a ected in its ion concentration.

19. Fill in the chart below with data from five different solutions.
Substance Acid or pH H3O+ ion concentration OH- ion concentration
base? (mol/L) (mol/L)
Initial at Final at Initial at Final at Initial at Final at
0.5 L 1 L 0.5 L 1 L 0.5 L 1 L
Spit base 5.8x10-8
7.40 7.24 4.0x10-8 2.5x10-7 1.7x10-7

Chicken Soup acid 6.07 1.6x10-6 8.4x10-7 6.3x10-9 1.2x10-8

5.80

co ee acid 5.30 1.0x10-5 5.0x10-6 1.0x10-9 2.0x10-9

5.00
Orange Juice acid 3.50 3.80 3.2x10-4 1.6x10-4 3.2x10-11 6.3x10-11
3.2x10-3 1.6x10-3 3.2x10-12 6.3x10-12
Soda pop acid 2.50 2.80
-7 -7 -8
milk acid 6.68 3.2x10 2.1x10 3.2x10 4.8x10 -78
6.50
 20. Use the simulation and information from the chart to answer the following questions.
a) What happens to the pH of an acid as water is added?
When the solutions are acidic and water is added, the pH increases considerably to approximately 0.18-0.30.
b) What happens to the concentration of both H3O+ and OH- ions as water is added to an acid?
There is no marked pattern in relation to the concentration of H3 0+, since some solutions increase but others decrease, so it all depends on the solution. On the other hand, the OH- has the same pattern since not all of them decrease or
increase but the changes are notorious.
c) What happens to the pH of a base as water is added?
When the solutions are base and water is added, the pH decreases considerably.

d) What happens to the concentration of both H3O+ and OH- ions as water is added to a base?
In the case of the single base in this table, H3 O+ increases its concentration and OH- decreases.

21. Go back and answer the guiding questions from the beginning of this activity.

Determining pH Lyric Portwood, South Paulding HS 2015

Guiding Question:
How is the pH quantitatively related to the hydronium ion concentration? When pH decrease the hydronium increase.
H3O+ concentration
Substance pH Mathematical Investigation
(mol/L)
1. Drain cleaner 13.00 1.0x10-13
Navigate to the PhET “pH scale” Simulation.
Hand soap 10.00 • You can google “PhET pH scale”, go to the
1.0x10-10
Blood first link, then click on the play button in the
7.40 4.0x10-8
4.0x10-8
center of the picture
Spit 7.40
• OR you can follow this link:
Milk 6.50 3.2x10 -7
1.6x10-6 https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/ph-
Chicken Soup 5.80
scale/latest/ph-scale_en.html
Coffee 5.00 1.0x10-5

Orange Juice 3.50 3.2x10-4

2. Navigate to the “Micro” box.
Soda Pop 2.50 3.2x10-3

Vomit 2.00 1.0x10-2

Battery Acid 1.00 1.0x10-1

3. Fill in the chart below using the simulation.

4. Now if you noticed, at the bottom of the left side of the screen you can change the view from Logarithmic to
Linear and vice versa. The pH scale is a logarithmic scale. Therefore let’s apply some logarithm calculations to see
if there is a correlation to pH. Determine the log of all of your H3O+ ion concentrations from above. To do this
simple press “log” then type in the concentration on your calculator and hit Enter. Record your data in the table
below.
 Substance pH H3O+ concentration Log of H3O+
(mol/L) concentration
-13
Drain cleaner 13.00 1.0x10-13
Hand soap 10.00 1.0x10-10 -9

Blood 7.40 4.0x10-8 -7.40

Spit 7.40 4.0x10-8 -7.40

Milk 6.50 3.2x10 -7

-6.50

Chicken Soup 5.80 1.6x10-6 -5.80

Coffee 5.00 1.0x10-5 -5

Orange Juice 3.50 3.2x10-4 -3.50

Soda Pop 2.50 3.2x10-3 -2.50

Vomit 2.00 1.0x10-2 -2

Battery Acid 1.00 1.0x10-1 -1

5. Is there any relationship between the H3O+ concentration and the pH?
When the H3 O+ increases the pH decreases (acid solution) and when the H3 O+ decrease the pH increase (base solution).

H3O+ concentration Lyric Portwood, South Paulding HS 2015

6. Can you Substance pH
(mol/L)
write an
Drain cleaner 13.00 1.0x10-13
equation to describe this?
Hand soap 10.00 1.0x10-10
y=-1.05*x + 11.1
Blood 7.40 4.0x10-8
Spit 7.40 4.0x10-8
7. There is another scale that is complimentary to pH. It
Milk 6.50 3.2x10 -7
is called the pOH scale. Look at the pOH and pH scale
Chicken Soup 5.80 1.6x10-6
below. What is the relationship between these two
Coffee 5.00 1.0x10-5
scales? pH is inversely proportional to pOH, so when pH increase the pOH decrease.
Orange Juice 3.50 3.2x10-4
Soda Pop 2.50 3.2x10-3

Vomit 2.00 1.0x10-2

Battery Acid 1.00 1.0x10-1

https://baskinapchem.wikispaces.com/file/view/pH-
pOH%20scales2.jpg/425149768/337x259/pH-pOH%20scales2.jpg

8. The pOH scale is also a logarithmic scale. Therefore let’s apply some logarithm calculations to see if there is a
correlation to pOH. Determine the log of all of your OH- ion concentrations from above. To do this simple press
“log” then type in the concentration on your calculator and hit Enter. Record your data in the table below.
 Substance pH pOH OH- concentration (mol/L) Log of OH-
concentration
Drain cleaner 13.00 1 1.0x10-1 -1
-1

Hand soap 10.00 4 1.0x10-4 -4

Blood 7.40 6.6 2.5x10-7 -6.6

Spit 7.40 6.6

2.5x10-7
-6.6

Milk 6.50 7.5 3.2x10 -7 -6.5

Chicken Soup 5.80 8.2 6.3x10-9 -8.2

Coffee 5.00 9 1.0x10-9 -9

Orange Juice 3.50 10.5 3.2x10-11 -10.5

Soda Pop 2.50 11.5 3.2x10-12 -11.5

Vomit 2.00 12 1.0x10-12 -12

Battery Acid 1.00 13 1.0x10-13 -13

9. Is there any relationship between the OH- concentration and the pH (Hint* think of the pH scale as ending at
14(even though we know it can go beyond there))?
Higher OH- will also increase pH and this will make the solution more basic and if both are decreased it will become an acidic solution.

10. Can you write an equation to describe this?

y=-1.05*x + 11.1

11. Determine the pOH for all solutions in the chart above.

12. What is the relationship between pH, pOH, H3O+ ions and OH- ions?
All the variables are related because when one increases there can be two options to increase or decrease, when the pH decreases the pOH increases, in the case of OH- it increases at the same time as the pH and the
log of OH- would be higher when the solutions are acidic which means that they have a pH below 7.

Lyric Portwood, South Paulding HS 2015